1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of connectors and in particular to the field of wiping and non-wiping type of card edge connectors.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the known prior art type of connector which utilize a spring loaded contact to make an ohmic connection with the metallization fingers of a printed circuit card, considerable damage in the form of gouging occurs over many removals and insertions of the card. The gouging is caused by the contact sliding over the metal fingers thereby wearing the metal and forming grooves therein. Eventually there may be a loss of the ohmic connection, which is time consuming and expensive to locate in modern day complex electronic devices.
Numerous designs are known wherein the tension of the spring which holds the contact may be taken up by auxiliary members such as levers or cams. In this type of connector, known as a zero insertion force connector, the printed circuit card is inserted while the contacts are held back by the auxiliary member. After the card is in place the full tension of the spring is allowed to fall back on the contact and effect the ohmic connection. Such auxiliary members add to the cost of the connector and have the additional disadvantage that space must be provided for mechanical access to the actuating mechanism. This requirement for access space prevents the close stacking of connectors which is necessary for electronic assemblies requiring the use of many printed circuit cards.